Re: Boston School Recommendations
With great respect to all the other dedicated teachers who have dojos around the Boston area. I have to weigh in my choice being Gleason Sensei. In my opinion he is one the most inspiring and vital teachers of the art. And I don't just mean in Boston, I don't even mean in the US. I mean anywhere. The sophistication of what this man is doing with his Aikido is the equal of any Aikido you could find here or in Japan. There certainly are other styles and approaches out there which are really excellent. But I do not think you could find anyone who you'd say "that's superior".
I have had Gleason Sensei to my dojo to teach for 12 or 13 years in a row. Never has he failed to show up better than he was the year before. He is at the cutting edge of what is happening in Aikido right now. If you want to see someone who can take some of this internal skills work being discussed here and apply it directly to Aikido, he is the Man. If you have the least interest in how the Founder viewed his art, Gleason Sensei has two published works on the topic. If I was any where near his dojo, I'd be there. Period. Don't look for what's convenient, look for what has quality and great depth. You NEVER regret working a bit harder to get the best quality and you can often later regret not doing so.
And I do not mean this disrespectfully of any other instructor. If I had my own dojo in the Boston area, I couldn't, in all honesty, tell someone to train with me rather than with Gleason Sensei. In fact I'd be over at his place a couple times a week myself, even if I were teaching elsewhere.
Of course this is just my own opinion... the suggestion to try out all the other dojos is an excellent one.
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